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Term Paper Mills Are in a Flunk

September 22, 2010 5:55 amSeptember 22, 2010 5:55 am

Today’s idea: Essay mills produce work of such low quality that students have no other option but to actually write their own papers, a professor says — “or maybe get help in the old-fashioned way and copy from friends.”

Education | On his blog, the author and Duke University professor Dan Ariely writes of trying out four essay mills by paying each $150 or more for a paper. “Two weeks later, what we got would best be described as gibberish,” he writes — including two papers found to have been heavily plagiarized.

The assigned topic was, naturally, cheating. Here are excerpts:

“Cheating by healers. Healing is different. There is harmless healing, when healers-cheaters and wizards offer omens, lapels, damage to withdraw, the husband-wife back and stuff. We read in the newspaper and just smile. But these days fewer people believe in wizards.”

Disney Enterprises, Inc.

“If the large allowance of study undertook on scholar betraying is any suggestion of academia and professors’ powerful yearn to decrease scholar betraying, it appeared expected these mind-set would component into the creation of their school room guidelines.”

“By trusting blindfold only in stable love, loyalty, responsibility and honesty the partners assimilate with the credulous and naïve persons of the past.”

“The future generation must learn for historical mistakes and develop the sense of pride and responsibility for its actions.” [DanAriely.com]

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“Idea of the Day” is a blog by Tom Kuntz and other editors of the Week in Review highlighting the most interesting writing we've come across lately on the Web. We’re generalists, so consider this a thinking person's grazing buffet. Equally important, “Idea of the Day” is a conversation, so please post your comments and e-mail us your suggestions.

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A note to readers: This post is the last for the Idea of the Day blog, started by the editors of the Week in Review more than two years ago as a place to highlight the most interesting current writing on the Web. The blog’s end is a result of limited resources in a medium where any number of worthy projects are possible, and where new priorities continually emerge. Thanks to all our readers and commenters, and regrets.Read more…

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